D Gukesh-Arjun Erigaisi dream pairing headlines high-stakes Global Chess League Season 3 draft

New Delhi: The Global Chess League (GCL) concluded a high-stakes Player Draft in Mumbai ahead of the much-anticipated third season to be played at Mumbai’s Royal Opera House from December 13 to 24, 2025. GCL, a joint initiative between Tech Mahindra and FIDE, is set to raise the bar even higher in a blockbuster Season 3, which will witness iconic players such as reigning World Champion D. Gukesh, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, among others.

At the Player Draft on Thursday, PBG Alaskan Knights pulled off a blockbuster move by bagging India’s superstar pair of Gukesh Dommaraju and Arjun Erigaisi. Filipino-American chess grandmaster Wesley So attracted massive interest and joined upGrad Mumba Masters after a fierce bidding war as six franchises made some big moves to build their squads.

After two successful seasons in Dubai (2023) and London (2024), Season 3 of the GCL will be staged in India, where both chess and the idea of the league originated.

Alpine SG Pipers make blockbuster start in the Draft

The Draft kicked off with the Icon Round, as Alpine SG Pipers secured Fabiano Caruana, PBG Alaskan Knights beat off rivals to acquire the services of Gukesh. Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand will remain with the Ganges Grandmasters, who added 20-year-old German GM Vincent Keymer to their roster.

Meanwhile, the most intense bidding war in the round saw three teams fighting to sign Erigaisi. After a flurry of bids, Alaskan Knights secured his services to complete the dream pairing with Gukesh.

The current World Champion @DGukesh is set to lead the charge for the PBG Alaskan Knights in Season 3. With a powerhouse squad behind him, the Alaskan Knights are ready to make the MegaMove this season.@FIDE_chess @chesscom_in @chesscom pic.twitter.com/E6CpKCFp5a

— Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) September 26, 2025

Four of the six teams opted for retentions with Alpine SG Pipers retaining Hou Yifan and R Praggnanandhaa, and American Gambits securing the services of Hikaru Nakamura and Bibisara Assaubayeva before the draft.

Alireza Firouzja, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Wei Yi will remain with defending champions Triveni Continental Kings.

Humpy, Harika retained by upGrad Mumba Masters

In the women’s category, seasoned Indian players Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli were retained by upGrad Mumba Masters, who also kept faith in GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Chinese Grandmaster Zhu Jiner’s move to the Triveni Continental Kings headlined the Superstar Women round. Meanwhile, Kateryna Lagno joined the PBG Alaskan Knights.

In the final round, the world’s sharpest prodigies went under the hammer as Ganges snapped up Raunak Sadhwani and American Gambits, bagging Volodar Murzin. PBG Alaskan Knights signed Daniel Dardha, while Alpine SG Pipers made a good move to sign Leon Mendonca.

The six-team franchise league will be played in a double-round-robin format across 12 days. Each team will play ten matches, decided on a best-of-six board system.

Peeyush Dubey, Chairperson, Global Chess League, was elated with the proceedings in the Draft and expressed his happiness over GCL’s arrival in India for what he thinks will be a blockbuster Season 3.

Global Chess League Season 3 Player Draft